Method for indicating number of transmitting ports of ue, ue and network device

ABSTRACT

A method for indicating the number of transmitting ports of User Equipment (UE), a network device, UE and a computer storage medium are provided. The method includes that: if performance degradation exists for a present Band Combination (BC), whether the performance degradation exists for a present frequency and bandwidth combination or not is determined to obtain a determination result; and it is determined based on the determination result to indicate a network side that the UE uses a first number or second number of transmitting ports, the first number is smaller than the second number.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The application is a continuation application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/623,080 filed on Dec. 16, 2019, which is a continuationapplication of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2017/103016 filed on Sep. 22,2017. The disclosures of both applications are incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to the field of information processing, andparticularly to a method for indicating the number of transmitting portsof User Equipment (UE), UE, a network device and a computer storagemedium.

BACKGROUND

At present, along with pursuit of people for rate, delay, high-speedmobility and efficiency, and diversification and complication ofservices in the future life, the international standard organization 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) has started researching anddeveloping the 5th-Generation (5G) technology. During early deploymentof New Radio (NR), it is difficult to implement complete NR coverage,and thus typically, wide area Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage and anNR island coverage mode are applied for network coverage. Moreover, LTEis mostly deployed below 6 GHz, leaving few spectrums for 5G below 6GHz, so researches on application of spectrums above 6 GHz for NR arerequired. However, the high band is limited in coverage and fast insignal fading. Meanwhile, for protecting early LTE investment of mobileoperating companies, a working mode of tight interworking between LTEand NR is proposed.

The radio frequency part of UEs, for example, mobile phones, is designedaccording to bands. However, for some Band Combinations (BCs), thenumber of antennae available for a UE is variable, namely, may be 1 or2. If antenna usage conditions and resource allocation conditions at thenetwork side and the UE side are mismatched, it may incur a problemabout communication performance.

SUMMARY

For solving the technical problem, embodiments of the disclosure providea method for indicating the number of transmitting ports of UE, UE, anetwork device and a computer storage medium.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a method for indicating thenumber of transmitting ports of UE, which may be applied to the UE andinclude the following operations.

When the performance degradation exists for a present BC, whetherperformance degradation exists for a present frequency and bandwidthcombination is determined to obtain a determination result.

It is determined to indicate a network side that the UE uses a firstnumber or second number of transmitting ports based on the determinationresult, the first number is smaller than the second number.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a method for indicating thenumber of transmitting ports of UE, which may be applied to a networkdevice and include the following operation.

An indication sent by the UE is acquired when performance degradationexists for a present BC and it is determined that the UE uses a first orsecond number of transmitting ports according to the indication, thefirst number is smaller than the second number.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a UE, which may include afirst processing unit and a first communication unit.

The first processing unit may be configured to determine whetherperformance degradation exists for a present frequency and bandwidthcombination when the performance degradation exists for a present BC, toobtain a determination result and determine, based on the determinationresult, to indicate a network side that the UE uses a first number orsecond number of transmitting ports, the first number is smaller thanthe second number.

The first communication unit may be configured to send an indication tothe network side.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a network device, which mayinclude a second processing unit and a second communication unit.

The second processing unit may be configured to acquire an indicationsent by a UE when performance degradation exists for a present BC anddetermine according to the indication, that the UE uses a first orsecond number of transmitting ports, the first number is smaller thanthe second number.

The second communication unit may be configured to receive theindication sent by the UE.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a network device, which mayinclude a processor and a memory configured to store a computer programcapable of running in the processor.

The processor may be configured to run the computer program to executethe steps of the abovementioned method.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide UE, which may include aprocessor and a memory configured to store a computer program capable ofrunning in the processor.

The processor may be configured to run the computer program to executethe steps of the abovementioned method.

The embodiments of the disclosure provide a computer storage mediumhaving stored thereon computer-executable instructions, which when beingexecuted, implement the steps of the abovementioned methods.

According to the technical solutions of the embodiments of thedisclosure, it may be determined, in combination with the performance ofthe UE for a BC and a frequency and bandwidth combination, to indicate anetwork side that a first number or second number of transmitting portsis used for communication in a present environment. In such a manner,the network side may acquire performance of the UE in the presentenvironment and then may determine a resource to be allocated to the UEbased on the communication performance, so that the communicationperformance of the UE is ensured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for indicating the number oftransmitting ports of UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of UE according to an embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a network device according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a hardware architecture according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For making the characteristics and technical contents of the embodimentsof the disclosure understood in more detail, implementation of theembodiments of the disclosure will be described below in combinationwith the drawings in detail. The drawings are only adopted fordescription as references and not intended to limit the embodiments ofthe disclosure.

First Embodiment

An embodiment of the disclosure provides a method for indicating thenumber of transmitting ports of UE, which is applied to the UE and, asshown in FIG. 1, includes the following steps.

In 101, whether performance degradation exists for a present frequencyand bandwidth combination is determined when the performance degradationexists for a present BC, to obtain a determination result.

In 102, it is determined, based on the determination result, to indicatea network side that the UE uses a first number or second number oftransmitting ports, the first number is smaller than the second number.

Here, the second number may be the number of all transmitting ports (Tx)of the UE and may usually be, for example, 2. The first number may be apositive integer smaller than the second number and may be, for example,1.

The BC may be a combination of bands of different systems. That is, eachcombination may usually include at least two bands. For example, the BCmay include a band of an LTE system and a band of an NR system.Moreover, at least one of bands in each one BC is different from atleast one of bands in any one of other BCs. That is, if a BC 1 includesan LTE band 1 and an NR band 1, a BC 2 may include the LTE band 1 and anNR band 2, and a BC 3 may include an LTE band 3 and an NR band 3.

Whether the performance degradation exists for the present BC may bepreset by a UE side or summarized by the UE side in a long-term usingprocess, which is not limited in the embodiment.

In addition, in the BC for which the performance degradation exists, theUE, when communicating in a certain region (for example, a certaincell), usually only adopts a channel or frequency corresponding to thecell for communication. In such case, the performance degradation doesnot exist for communication in the frequency and a bandwidthcorresponding to the frequency, and then a maximum number oftransmitting ports may be adopted for communication.

The steps will be described below based on different examples in detailrespectively.

First Example

Before 101 is executed, the UE, after entering a connected state, sendsa wireless capability to the network side.

The wireless capability includes performance degradation indicationinformation of the UE for at least one BC, each BC includes at least twobands, and the performance degradation indication information indicateswhether the performance degradation exists for the at least one BC.

Or, the wireless capability includes a number of the transmitting portsused by the UE for at least one BC, and each BC includes at least twobands.

The performance degradation of the UE may be, for example, performancedegradation caused by the problem of Intermodulation Distortion (IMD).

That is, when the UE is in a dual connectivity scenario, a BC of twosystems may cause performance degradation of the UE. Therefore, aperformance degradation indication of the UE for each BC in an EvolvedUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)scenario is notified to the network side through the wirelesscapability. If a performance degradation problem exists, the indicationis true and 1Tx is used as a default, otherwise the indication is notreported.

Or, it is directly indicated that 1Tx is used for some BCs.

In addition, after the wireless capability is reported to the networkside, the network side correspondingly forwards all capabilityinformation to a Core Network (CN) for storage. When the UE enters theconnected state again, the network side may directly acquire thewireless capability information of the UE from a CN side withoutreporting by the UE.

The hypothesis is that the UE has reported the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE to the network side and the wireless capabilityinformation has been stored in the CN. The UE acquires frequency andbandwidth information of a cell in the cell.

In addition, after the UE acquires EN-DC configuration information,frequency and bandwidth information of another cell in the EN-DCscenario is acquired.

Based on this, the network may inquire the UE about 2Tx capabilityinformation of channel allocation for a certain BC. That is, before 101is executed, the method may further include the following operations.Responsive to determining that the performance degradation exists forthe present BC of the UE and determining a frequency and bandwidthcorresponding to a cell where the UE is located, the network side mayactively initiate a query to the UE to acquire whether the performancedegradation for the UE also exists for the frequency and bandwidthcombination.

Correspondingly, the UE, when receiving the query, executes 101.

It may be understood that receiving the query from the network side maybe an implementation and there may be another implementation. Forexample, the UE may learn the frequency and bandwidth of the cell whereit is located and then actively execute the operation of determiningwhether the performance degradation exists for the present frequency andbandwidth combination when the performance degradation exists for thepresent BC, to obtain the determination result.

Furthermore, the operation in 102 that it is determined based on thedetermination result to indicate the network side that the UE uses thefirst number or second number of transmitting ports further includes thefollowing operation.

If the determination result indicates that no performance degradationexists for the present frequency and bandwidth combination, it isdetermined to indicate the network side that the UE uses the secondnumber of transmitting ports.

That is, if the performance degradation problem exists for the presentlyconfigured BC, the UE further determines whether the performancedegradation problem also exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination. If NO, the UE indicates support of 2Tx in a Radio ResourceControl (RRC) connection reconfiguration complete message. Otherwise noindication is made.

Through the above description, it may be understood that the UE, once awireless environment changes, may determine whether the performancedegradation exists for a BC and a frequency and bandwidth combination inan environment where the UE is located. For example, When the UE hasdetermined the number of transmitting ports used in a previous cell, ifan EN-DC configuration changes or an environment changes (for example,getting close to a center of the cell) as the UE moves, the UEdetermines whether the performance degradation problem exists for thepresently configured BC, if YES, the UE further determines whether theperformance degradation problem also exists for the present frequencyand bandwidth combination, and if NO, support of 2Tx is indicated in aresponse message.

Finally, it is to be noted that, in the example, when the UE reports thenumber of the supported transmitting ports (Tx) to the network sidethrough a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB), abase station of an SCG may send the number to a base station side wherea master cell group of the UE is located, namely a Slave Node (SN)forwards the number of Tx to a Master Node (MN) through Xn.

Second Example

Before 101 is executed, the method may further include the followingoperations. Configuration information is received from the network side.The configuration information includes at least one of: a BC, or afrequency and bandwidth combination.

It is determined based on the configuration information that the firstnumber or second number of transmitting ports is supported for at leastone of: the BC, or the frequency and bandwidth combination.

That is, the network transmits a probable BC or channel allocationconfiguration. That is, the network side may transmit BC information andfrequency and bandwidth combination information corresponding to allcells managed by it.

The UE may identify the combinations for which only the first number 1Txis supported and the combinations for which the second number 2Tx iscertainly supported through capability based on a received list. In suchcase, feedback information identifying the first number and the secondnumber may be sent to the network side.

Furthermore, the UE may send preference to identify some bands for whichthe performance degradation exist but 2Tx may also be supported, andadopted signaling may be assistance information of the UE.

Moreover, if the environment changes (for example, the UE moves), the UEmay send preference to identify some bands for which the performancedegradation exist but 2Tx may also be supported, and adopted signalingmay be the assistance information of the UE.

Like the first example, the preference identifier of the UE may be sentafter the network inquires the UE about whether 2Tx may be supportedand, of course, may also be sent to the network side after the UEdetects the change by itself.

Third Example

The method further includes the following operations. Hardwarecapability information is sent to the network side, the hardwarecapability information indicates whether the UE may support the secondnumber of transmitting ports. A hardware capability is a 2Tx supportcapability.

The operation that it is determined, based on the determination result,to indicate the network side that the UE uses the first number or secondnumber of transmitting ports includes the following operations.

When the hardware capability information indicates that the UE supportsthe second number of the transmitting ports, if the determination resultindicates that the performance degradation exists for the presentfrequency and bandwidth combination, it is determined to indicate thenetwork side that the UE uses the first number of transmitting ports,otherwise it is determined not to indicate the network side about thenumber of the transmitting ports used by the UE.

A reporting manner may be that the UE reports whether 2Tx may besupported, for example, only 1Tx may be supported, in the presentenvironment through dynamic RRC signaling, for example, the UEassistance information.

If the UE reports, the network makes a configuration or regulatesresource allocation according to 1Tx. If the UE does not report, thenetwork makes the configuration according to 2Tx.

Fourth Example

The example is based on the scenario that the wireless capability issent to the network side in the first example.

The method further includes the following operations.

After the wireless capability is sent to the network side, it isdetermined whether query information about at least one frequency andbandwidth combination is received from the network side.

If the query information about the at least one frequency and bandwidthcombination is received from the network side, information that thefirst or second number of transmitting ports is supported for the atleast one frequency and bandwidth combination is sent to the networkside.

The UE sends a report about a BC-based capability at first. The network,after receiving the report from the UE, may further indicate whether theUE is required to report a channel-granularity-based capability of oneor some BCs.

It may be seen that, with adoption of the solution, it may bedetermined, in combination with the performance of the UE for a BC and afrequency and bandwidth combination, to indicate a network side that afirst number or second number of transmitting ports is used forcommunication in a present environment. In such a manner, the networkside may acquire performance of the UE in the present environment andthen may determine a resource to be allocated to the UE based on thecommunication performance, so that the communication performance of theUE is ensured.

Second Embodiment

An embodiment of the disclosure provides a method for indicating thenumber of transmitting ports of UE, which is applied to a network deviceand includes the following operations. If performance degradation existsfor a present BC, an indication sent by the UE is acquired, and it isdetermined, according to the indication, that the UE uses a first orsecond number of transmitting ports, the first number is smaller thanthe second number.

Here, the network device may be a base station managing the UE and, whenthe UE may be connected with two networks, for example, connected with amaster cell group and an SCG, the network device may be a base stationin one of the two networks. Moreover, the master cell group and the SCGmay be an LTE cell and an NR cell respectively. In an embodiment, thenetwork device may be the base station in the master cell group (i.e.,the LTE cell).

The second number may be the number of all transmitting ports (Tx) ofthe UE and may usually be, for example, 2. The first number may be apositive integer smaller than the second number and may be, for example,1.

The BC may be a combination of bands of different systems. That is, eachcombination may usually include at least two bands. For example, the BCmay include a band of an LTE system and a band of an NR system.Moreover, at least one of bands in each one BC is different from atleast one of bands in any one of other BCs. That is, if a BC 1 includesan LTE band 1 and an NR band 1, a BC 2 may include the LTE band 1 and anNR band 2, and a BC 3 may include an LTE band 3 and an NR band 3.

Whether the performance degradation exists for the present BC may bepreset by a UE side or summarized by the UE side in a long-term usingprocess, which are not limited in the embodiment.

In addition, in the BC for which the performance degradation exists, theUE, when communicating in a certain region (for example, a certaincell), usually only adopts a channel or frequency corresponding to thecell for communication. In such case, if no performance degradationexists for communication in the frequency and a bandwidth correspondingto the frequency, a maximum number of transmitting ports may be adoptedfor communication.

The operations will be described below based on different examples indetail respectively.

First Example

It is determined whether a wireless capability corresponding to the UEis stored on a CN side after the UE enters a connected state, and if NO,request information for acquiring the wireless capability is sent to theUE.

The wireless capability includes performance degradation indicationinformation of the UE for at least one BC, each BC includes at least twobands, and the performance degradation indication information indicateswhether the performance degradation exists for the at least one BC.

Or, the wireless capability includes a number of the transmitting portsused by the UE for each of at least one BC, and each BC includes atleast two bands.

The performance degradation of the UE may be, for example, performancedegradation caused by the problem of IMD.

That is, when the UE is in a dual connectivity scenario, a BC of twosystems may cause performance degradation of the UE. Therefore, aperformance degradation indication of the UE for each BC in an EN-DCscenario is notified to the network side through the wirelesscapability. If a performance degradation problem exists, the indicationis true and 1Tx is used as a default, otherwise the indication is notreported.

Or, it is directly indicated that 1Tx is used for some BCs.

In addition, after the wireless capability is reported to the networkside, the network side correspondingly forwards all capabilityinformation to a CN for storage. When the UE enters the connected stateagain, the network side may directly acquire the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE from the CN side without reporting by the UE.

The hypothesis is that the UE has reported the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE to the network side and the wireless capabilityinformation has been stored in the CN. The UE acquires frequency andbandwidth information of a cell in the cell.

In addition, after the UE acquires EN-DC configuration information,frequency and bandwidth information of another cell in the EN-DCscenario is acquired.

Based on this, the network may inquire the UE about 2Tx capabilityinformation of channel allocation for a certain BC. That is, responsiveto determining that the performance degradation exists for the presentBC of the UE and determining a frequency and bandwidth corresponding toa cell where the UE is located, the network side may actively initiate aquery to the UE to acquire whether the performance degradation of the UEalso exists for the frequency and bandwidth combination.

It may be understood that receiving the query of the network side may bean implementation and there may be another implementation. For example,the UE may learn the frequency and bandwidth of the cell where it islocated and then actively execute the operation of determining, if theperformance degradation exists for the present BC, whether theperformance degradation exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination to obtain the determination result.

Furthermore, if an indication received from the UE indicates that thesecond number of transmitting ports is used, it is determined that noperformance degradation exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination corresponding to the UE.

That is, if the performance degradation problem exists for the presentlyconfigured BC, the UE further determines whether the performancedegradation problem also exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination. If NO, the UE indicates support of 2Tx in an RRC connectionreconfiguration complete message. Otherwise no indication is made.

Through the above description, it may be understood that the UE, once awireless environment changes, may determine whether the performancedegradation exists for a BC and a frequency and bandwidth combination inan environment where the UE is located. For example, When the UE hasdetermined the number of transmitting ports used in a previous cell, ifan EN-DC configuration changes or an environment changes (for example,getting close to a center of the cell) as the UE moves, the UEdetermines whether the performance degradation problem exists for thepresently configured BC, if YES, the UE further determines whether theperformance degradation problem also exists for the present frequencyand bandwidth combination, and if NO, support of 2Tx is indicated in aresponse message.

Finally, it is to be noted that, in the example, when the UE sends theindication to the network side through the SCG, the indication sent bythe SCG is acquired through Xn. Specifically, when the UE reports thenumber of the supported transmitting ports (Tx) to the network sidethrough an SCG SRB, a base station of the SCG may send the number to abase station side where a master cell group of the UE is located, namelyan SN forwards the number of Tx to an MN through Xn.

Second Example

Configuration information is sent to the UE, the configurationinformation includes at least one of: a BC, or a frequency and bandwidthcombination.

Correspondingly, the UE receives the configuration information sent bythe network side, the configuration information includes at least one ofthe BC or the frequency and bandwidth combination and the UE determinesbased on the configuration information that the first number or secondnumber of transmitting ports is supported for at least one of: the BC,or the frequency and bandwidth combination.

That is, the network transmits a probable BC or channel allocationconfiguration. That is, the network side may transmit BC information andfrequency and bandwidth combination information corresponding to allcells managed by it.

The UE may identify the combinations for which only the first number 1Txis supported and the combinations for which the second number 2Tx iscertainly supported through capability based on a received list. In suchcase, feedback information identifying the first number and the secondnumber may be sent to the network side.

Furthermore, the UE may send preference to identify some bands for whichthe performance degradation exist but 2Tx may also be supported, andadopted signaling may be UE assistance information.

Moreover, if the environment changes (for example, the UE moves), the UEmay send preference to identify some bands for which the performancedegradation exists but 2Tx may also be supported, and adopted signalingmay be the assistance information of the UE.

Like the first example, the preference identifier of the UE may be sentafter the network inquires the UE about whether 2Tx may be supportedand, of course, may also be sent to the network side after the UEdetects the change by itself.

Third Example

Hardware capability information sent by the UE is received, the hardwarecapability information indicates whether the UE may support the secondnumber of transmitting ports. A hardware capability is a 2Tx supportcapability.

When an indication indicating the first number of transmitting ports isused is received from the UE, resource configuration is performed basedon the first number of transmitting ports.

When no indication indicating that the first number of transmittingports is used is received from the UE, resource configuration isperformed based on the second number of transmitting ports.

A reporting manner may be that the UE reports whether 2Tx may besupported, for example, only 1Tx may be supported, in the presentenvironment through dynamic RRC signaling, for example, the UEassistance information.

If the UE reports, the network makes a configuration or regulatesresource allocation according to 1Tx. If the UE does not report, thenetwork makes the configuration according to 2Tx.

Fourth Example

The example is based on the scenario that the wireless capability issent to the network side in the first example.

After the wireless capability is received from the UE, query informationabout at least one frequency and bandwidth combination is sent to theUE.

Information that the first or second number of transmitting ports issupported for the at least one frequency and bandwidth combination isreceived from the UE.

That is, the UE sends a report about a BC-based capability at first. Thenetwork, after receiving the report from the UE, may further indicatewhether the UE is required to report a channel-granularity-basedcapability of one or some BCs.

It may be seen that, with adoption of the solution, it may bedetermined, in combination with the performance of the UE for a BC and afrequency and bandwidth combination, to indicate a network side that afirst number or second number of transmitting ports is used forcommunication in a present environment. In such a manner, the networkside may acquire performance of the UE in the present environment andthen may determine a resource to be allocated to the UE based on thecommunication performance, so that the communication performance of theUE is ensured.

Third Embodiment

An embodiment of the disclosure provides a UE, which, as shown in FIG.2, includes a first processing unit 21 and a first communication unit22.

The first processing unit 21 is configured to determine whetherperformance degradation exists for a present frequency and bandwidthcombination when the performance degradation exists for a present BC, toobtain a determination result and determine, based on the determinationresult, to indicate a network side that the UE uses a first number orsecond number of transmitting ports, the first number is smaller thanthe second number.

The first communication unit 22 is configured to send an indication tothe network side.

Here, the second number may be the number of all transmitting ports (Tx)of the UE and may usually be, for example, 2. The first number may be apositive integer smaller than the second number and may be, for example,1.

The BC may be a combination of bands of different systems. That is, eachcombination may usually include at least two bands. For example, the BCmay include a band of an LTE system and a band of an NR system.Moreover, at least one of bands in each one BC is different from atleast one of bands in any one of other BCs. That is, if a BC 1 includesan LTE band 1 and an NR band 1, a BC 2 may include the LTE band 1 and anNR band 2, and a BC 3 may include an LTE band 3 and an NR band 3.

Whether the performance degradation exists for the present BC may bepreset by a UE side or summarized by the UE side in a long-term usingprocess, which is not limited in the embodiment.

In addition, in the BC for which the performance degradation exists, theUE, when communicating in a certain region (for example, a certaincell), usually only adopts a channel or frequency corresponding to thecell for communication. In such case, the performance degradation doesnot exist for communication in the frequency and a bandwidthcorresponding to the frequency and then a maximum number of transmittingports may be adopted for communication.

The steps will be described below based on different examples in detailrespectively.

First Example

The first communication unit 22 is further configured to send a wirelesscapability to the network side after the UE enters a connected state.

The wireless capability includes performance degradation indicationinformation of the UE for at least one BC, each BC includes at least twobands, and the performance degradation indication information indicateswhether the performance degradation exists for the at least one BC.

Or, the wireless capability includes a number of the transmitting portsused by the UE for at least one BC, and each BC includes at least twobands.

The performance degradation of the UE may be, for example, performancedegradation caused by the problem of IMD.

That is, when the UE is in a dual connectivity scenario, a BC of twosystems may cause performance degradation of the UE, and then aperformance degradation indication of the UE for each BC in an EN-DCscenario is notified to the network side through the wirelesscapability. If a performance degradation problem exists, the indicationis true and 1Tx is used as a default, otherwise the indication is notreported.

Or, it is directly indicated that 1Tx is used for some BCs.

In addition, after the wireless capability is reported to the networkside, the network side correspondingly forwards all capabilityinformation to a CN for storage. When the UE enters the connected stateagain, the network side may directly acquire the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE from a CN side without reporting by the UE.

The hypothesis is that the UE has reported the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE to the network side and the wireless capabilityinformation has been stored in the CN. The UE acquires frequency andbandwidth information of a cell in the cell.

In addition, after the UE acquires EN-DC configuration information,frequency and bandwidth information of another cell in the EN-DCscenario is acquired.

Based on this, the network may inquire the UE about 2Tx capabilityinformation of channel allocation for a certain BC. Responsive todetermining that the performance degradation exists for the present BCof the UE and determining a frequency and bandwidth corresponding to acell where the UE is located, the network side may actively initiate aquery to the UE to acquire whether the performance degradation for theUE also exists for the frequency and bandwidth combination.

It may be understood that receiving the query from the network side maybe an implementation and there may be another implementation. Forexample, the UE may learn the frequency and bandwidth of the cell whereit is located and then actively execute the operation of determining, ifthe performance degradation exists for the present BC, whether theperformance degradation exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination to obtain the determination result.

Furthermore, the first processing unit 21 is further configured todetermine to indicate the network side that the UE uses the secondnumber of transmitting ports when the determination result indicatesthat no performance degradation exists for the present frequency andbandwidth combination.

That is, if the performance degradation problem exists for the presentlyconfigured BC, the UE further determines whether the performancedegradation problem also exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination. If NO, the UE indicates support of 2Tx in an RRC connectionreconfiguration complete message. Otherwise no indication is made.

Through the above description, it may be understood that the UE, once awireless environment changes, may determine whether the performancedegradation exists for a BC and a frequency and bandwidth combination inan environment where the UE is located. For example, When the UE hasdetermined the number of transmitting ports used in a previous cell, ifan EN-DC configuration changes or an environment changes (for example,getting close to a center of the cell) as the UE moves, the UEdetermines whether the performance degradation problem exists for thepresently configured BC, if YES, the UE further determines whether theperformance degradation problem also exists for the present frequencyand bandwidth combination, and if NO, support of 2Tx is indicated in aresponse message.

Finally, it is to be noted that, in the example, when the UE reports thenumber of the supported transmitting ports (Tx) to the network sidethrough an SCG SRB, a base station of an SCG may send the number to abase station side where a master cell group of the UE is located, namelyan SN forwards the number of Tx to an MN through Xn.

Second Example

The first communication unit 22 is further configured to receiveconfiguration information sent by the network side, the configurationinformation includes at least one of: a BC, or a frequency and bandwidthcombination.

Correspondingly, the first processing unit 21 is further configured todetermine based on the configuration information that the first numberor second number of transmitting ports is supported for at least one of:the BC, or the frequency and bandwidth combination.

That is, the network transmits a probable BC or channel allocationconfiguration. That is, the network side may transmit BC information andfrequency and bandwidth combination information corresponding to allcells managed by it.

The UE may identify the combinations for which only the first number 1Txis supported and the combinations for which the second number 2Tx iscertainly supported through capability based on a received list. In suchcase, feedback information identifying the first number and the secondnumber may be sent to the network side.

Furthermore, the UE may send preference to identify that some bands forwhich the performance degradation exist but 2Tx may also be supported,and adopted signaling may be the assistance information of the UE.

Moreover, if the environment changes (for example, the UE moves), the UEmay send preference to identify some bands for which the performancedegradation exist but 2Tx may also supported, and adopted signaling maybe the assistance information of the UE.

Like the first example, the preference identifier of the UE may be sentafter the network inquires the UE about whether 2Tx may be supportedand, of course, may also be sent to the network side after the UEdetects the change by itself.

Third Example

The first communication unit 22 is further configured to send hardwarecapability information to the network side. The hardware capabilityinformation indicates whether the UE supports the second number oftransmitting ports. A hardware capability is a 2Tx support capability.

The first processing unit 21 is further configured to, when the hardwarecapability information indicates that the UE supports the second numberof transmitting ports, determine to indicate the network side that theUE uses the first number of transmitting ports if the determinationresult indicates that the performance degradation exists for the presentfrequency and bandwidth combination, and determine not to indicate thenetwork side about the number of the transmitting ports used by the UE,if the determination result indicates that no performance degradationexists for the present frequency and bandwidth combination.

A reporting manner may be that the UE reports whether 2Tx may besupported, for example, only 1Tx may be supported, in the presentenvironment through dynamic RRC signaling, for example, the UEassistance information.

If the UE reports, the network makes a configuration or regulatesresource allocation according to 1Tx. If the UE does not report, thenetwork makes the configuration according to 2Tx.

Fourth Example

The example is based on the scenario that the wireless capability issent to the network side in the first example.

The first processing unit 21 is further configured to determine whetherquery information about at least one frequency and bandwidth combinationis received from the network side after the wireless capability is sentto the network side, and send, to the network side, information that thefirst or second number of transmitting ports is supported for the atleast one frequency and bandwidth combination if the query informationabout the at least one frequency and bandwidth combination is receivedfrom the network side.

The UE sends a report about a BC-based capability at first. The network,after receiving the report from the UE, may further indicate whether theUE is required to report a channel-granularity-based capability of oneor some BCs.

It may be seen that, with adoption of the solution, it may bedetermined, in combination with the performance of the UE for a BC and afrequency and bandwidth combination, to indicate a network side that afirst number or second number of transmitting ports is used forcommunication in a present environment. In such a manner, the networkside may acquire performance of the UE in the present environment andthen may determine a resource to be allocated to the UE based on thecommunication performance, so that the communication performance of theUE is ensured.

Fourth Embodiment

An embodiment of the disclosure provides a network device, which, asshown in FIG. 3, includes a second processing unit 31 and a secondcommunication unit 32.

The second processing unit 31 is configured to, if performancedegradation exists for a present BC, acquire an indication sent by a UEand determine, according to the indication, that the UE uses a first orsecond number of transmitting ports, the first number is smaller thanthe second number.

The second communication unit 32 is configured to receive the indicationsent by the UE.

Here, the network device may be a base station managing the UE and, whenthe UE may be connected with two networks, for example, connected with amaster cell group and an SCG, the network device may be a base stationin one of the two networks. Moreover, the master cell group and the SCGmay be an LTE cell and an NR cell respectively. In an embodiment, thenetwork device may be the base station in the master cell group (i.e.,the LTE cell).

The second number may be the number of all transmitting ports (Tx) ofthe UE and may usually be, for example, 2. The first number may be apositive integer smaller than the second number and may be, for example,1.

The BC may be a combination of bands of different systems. That is, eachcombination may usually include at least two bands. For example, the BCmay include a band of an LTE system and a band of an NR system.Moreover, at least one of bands in each one BC is different from atleast one of bands in any one of other BCs. That is, if a BC 1 includesan LTE band 1 and an NR band 1, a BC 2 may include the LTE band 1 and anNR band 2, and a BC 3 may include an LTE band 3 and an NR band 3.

Whether the performance degradation exists for the present BC may bepreset by a UE side or summarized by the UE side in a long-term usingprocess, which are not limited in the embodiment.

In addition, in the BC for which the performance degradation exists, theUE, when communicating in a certain region (for example, a certaincell), usually only adopts a channel or frequency corresponding to thecell for communication. In such case, if no performance degradationexists for communication in the frequency and a bandwidth correspondingto the frequency, and then a maximum number of transmitting ports may beadopted for communication.

The steps will be described below based on different examples in detailrespectively.

First Example

Whether a wireless capability corresponding to the UE is stored on a CNside is determined after the UE enters a connected state, and if NO,request information for acquiring the wireless capability is sent to theUE.

The wireless capability includes performance degradation indicationinformation of the UE for at least one BC, each BC includes at least twobands, and the performance degradation indication information indicateswhether the performance degradation exists for the at least one BC.

Or, the wireless capability includes a number of the transmitting portsused by the UE for at least one BC, and each BC includes at least twobands.

The performance degradation of the UE may be, for example, performancedegradation caused by the problem of IMD.

That is, when the UE is in a dual connectivity scenario, a BC of twosystems may cause performance degradation of the UE Therefore, aperformance degradation indication of the UE for each BC in an EN-DCscenario is notified to the network side through the wirelesscapability. If a performance degradation problem exists, the indicationis true and 1Tx is used as a default, otherwise the indication is notreported.

Or, it is directly indicated that 1Tx is used for some BCs.

In addition, after the wireless capability is reported to the networkside, the network side correspondingly forwards all capabilityinformation to a CN for storage. When the UE enters the connected stateagain, the network side may directly acquire the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE from a CN side without reporting by the UE.

The hypothesis is that the UE has reported the wireless capabilityinformation of the UE to the network side and the wireless capabilityinformation has been stored in the CN. The UE acquires frequency andbandwidth information of a cell in the cell.

In addition, after the UE acquires EN-DC configuration information,frequency and bandwidth information of another cell in the EN-DCscenario is acquired.

Based on this, the network may inquire the UE about 2Tx capabilityinformation of channel allocation for a certain BC. That is, responsiveto determining that the performance degradation exists for the presentBC of the UE and determining a frequency and bandwidth corresponding toa cell where the UE is located, the network side may actively initiate aquery to the UE to acquire whether the performance degradation of the UEalso exists for the frequency and bandwidth combination.

It may be understood that receiving the query of the network side may bean implementation and there may be another implementation. For example,the UE may learn the frequency and bandwidth of the cell where it islocated and then actively execute the operation of determining, if theperformance degradation exists for the present BC, whether theperformance degradation exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination to obtain the determination result.

Furthermore, if the received indication indicates that the indicationindicates that the UE uses the second number of transmitting ports, itis determined that no performance degradation exists for a presentfrequency and bandwidth combination corresponding to the UE.

That is, if the performance degradation problem exists for the presentlyconfigured BC, the UE further determines whether the performancedegradation problem also exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination. If NO, the UE indicates support of 2Tx in an RRC connectionreconfiguration complete message. Otherwise no indication is made.

Through the above description, it may be understood that the UE, once awireless environment changes, may determine whether the performancedegradation exists for a BC and a frequency and bandwidth combination inan environment where the UE is located. For example, When the UE hasdetermined the number of transmitting ports used in a previous cell, ifan EN-DC configuration changes or an environment changes (for example,getting close to a center of the cell) as the UE moves, the UEdetermines whether the performance degradation problem exists for thepresently configured BC, if YES, the UE further determines whether theperformance degradation problem also exists for the present frequencyand bandwidth combination, and if NO, support of 2Tx is indicated in aresponse message.

Finally, it is to be noted that, in the example, when the UE sends theindication to the network side through the SCG, the indication sent bythe SCG is acquired through Xn. For the second communication unit, whenthe UE reports the number of the supported transmitting ports (Tx) tothe network side through an SCG SRB, a base station of the SCG may sendthe number to a base station side where a master cell group of the UE islocated, namely an SN forwards the number of Tx to an MN through Xn.

Second Example

The second communication unit 22 is further configured to sendconfiguration information to the UE, the configuration informationincludes at least one of: a BC, or a frequency and bandwidthcombination.

Correspondingly, the UE receives the configuration information sent bythe network side, the configuration information includes at least one ofthe BC or the frequency and bandwidth combination and the UE determinesbased on the configuration information whether the first or secondnumber of the transmitting ports supported for at least one of: the BC,or the frequency and bandwidth combination.

That is, the network transmits a probable BC or channel allocationconfiguration. That is, the network side may transmit BC information andfrequency and bandwidth combination information corresponding to allcells managed by it.

The UE may identify the combinations for which only the first number 1Txis supported and the combinations for which the second number 2Tx iscertainly supported through capability based on a received list. In suchcase, feedback information identifying the first number and the secondnumber may be sent to the network side.

Furthermore, the UE may send preference to identify some bands for whichthe performance degradation exist but 2Tx may also be supported, andadopted signaling may be UE assistance information.

Moreover, if the environment changes (for example, the UE moves), the UEmay send preference to identify that some bands for which theperformance degradation exist but 2Tx may also be supported, and adoptedsignaling may be the assistance information of the UE.

Like the first example, the preference identifier of the UE may be sentafter the network inquires the UE about whether 2Tx may be supportedand, of course, may also be sent to the network side after the UEdetects the change by itself.

Third Example

The second communication unit is further configured to receive hardwarecapability information sent by the UE, the hardware capabilityinformation indicates whether the UE may support the second number oftransmitting ports. A hardware capability is a 2Tx support capability.

The second processing unit is further configured to perform resourceconfiguration based on the first number of transmitting ports, when anindication indicating that the first number of transmitting ports isused is received from the UE, and perform resource configuration basedon the second number of transmitting ports when no indication indicatingthat the first number of transmitting ports is used is received from theUE.

A reporting manner may be that the UE reports whether 2Tx may besupported, for example, only 1Tx may be supported, in the presentenvironment through dynamic RRC signaling, for example, the UEassistance information.

If the UE reports, the network makes a configuration or regulatesresource allocation according to 1Tx. If the UE does not report, thenetwork makes the configuration according to 2Tx.

Fourth Example

The example is based on the scenario that the wireless capability issent to the network side in the first example.

After the wireless capability sent by the UE is received, queryinformation about at least one frequency and bandwidth combination issent to the UE.

Information that the first or second number of the transmitting ports issupported for the at least one frequency and bandwidth combination isreceived from the UE.

That is, the UE sends a report about a BC-based capability at first. Thenetwork, after receiving the report from the UE, may further indicatewhether the UE is required to report a channel-granularity-basedcapability of one or some BCs.

It may be seen that, with adoption of the solution, it may bedetermined, in combination with the performance of the UE for a BC and afrequency and bandwidth combination, to indicate a network side that afirst number or second number of transmitting ports is used forcommunication in a present environment. In such a manner, the networkside may acquire performance of the UE in the present environment andthen may determine a resource to be allocated to the UE based on thecommunication performance, so that the communication performance of theUE is ensured.

An embodiment of the disclosure also provides a hardware compositionarchitecture of a network device or UE, which, as shown in FIG. 4,includes at least one processor 41, a memory 42 and at least one networkinterface 43. Each component is coupled together through a bus system44. It may be understood that the bus system 44 is configured toimplement connection communication between these components. Besides adata bus, the bus system 44 includes a power bus, a control bus and astate signal bus. However, for clear description, various buses in FIG.4 are marked as the bus system 44.

It may be understood that the memory 42 in the embodiment of thedisclosure may be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or mayinclude both the volatile and nonvolatile memories.

In some implementations, the memory 42 stores the following elements,executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof or anextended set thereof: an operating system 421 and an application program422.

Herein, the processor 41 is configured to be capable of processing thesteps of the method in the first or second embodiment, which will not beelaborated herein.

An embodiment of the disclosure provides a computer storage mediumhaving stored thereon computer-executable instructions which when beingexecuted, can implement the steps of the method in the first or secondembodiment.

When being implemented in form of software functional module and sold orused as an independent product, the device of the embodiments of thedisclosure may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium.Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of theembodiments of the disclosure substantially or parts makingcontributions to the conventional art may be embodied in form ofsoftware product, and the computer software product is stored in astorage medium, including a plurality of instructions configured toenable a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, anetwork device or the like) to execute all or part of the method in eachembodiment of the disclosure. The storage medium includes various mediacapable of storing program codes such as a U disk, a mobile hard disk, aRead Only Memory (ROM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk. Therefore,the embodiments of the disclosure are not limited to any specifichardware and software combination.

Correspondingly, the embodiments of the disclosure also provide acomputer storage medium having stored thereon computer programs, thecomputer program being configured to execute the data scheduling methodof the embodiments of the disclosure.

Although the embodiments of the disclosure have been disclosed for theexemplary purposes, those skilled in the art may realize that it is alsopossible to make various improvements, additions and replacements.Therefore, the scope of the disclosure should not be limited to theabovementioned embodiments.

1. A method for indicating a number of transmitting ports of a UserEquipment (UE), performed by the UE and comprising: determining whetherperformance degradation exists for a present frequency and bandwidthcombination when the performance degradation exists for a present BandCombination (BC), to obtain a determination result, wherein the presentfrequency and bandwidth combination is a part of the BC, and determiningto indicate a network side that the UE uses the second number oftransmitting ports when the determination result indicates that noperformance degradation exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination, the first number being smaller than the second number. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending a wireless capabilityto the network side after the UE enters a connected state.
 3. The methodof claim 2, wherein the wireless capability comprises performancedegradation indication information of the UE for at least one BC, eachBC comprises at least two bands, and the performance degradationindication information indicates whether the performance degradationexists for the at least one BC.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein thewireless capability comprises a number of transmitting ports used by theUE for each of at least one BC, and each BC comprises at least twobands.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: after the wirelesscapability is sent to the network side, determining whether queryinformation about at least one frequency and bandwidth combination isreceived from the network side; and if the query information about theat least one frequency and bandwidth combination is received from thenetwork side, sending, to the network side, information that the firstor second number of transmitting ports is supported for the at least onefrequency and bandwidth combination.
 6. A User Equipment (UE),comprising: a processor; a memory configured to store computer programscapable of running in the processor; and at least one network interface;wherein the processor is configured to run the computer programs todetermine whether performance degradation exists for a present frequencyand bandwidth combination when the performance degradation exists for apresent Band Combination (BC), to obtain a determination result; anddetermine to indicate a network side that the UE uses the second numberof transmitting ports when the determination result indicates that noperformance degradation exists for the present frequency and bandwidthcombination, wherein the first number is smaller than the second numberand the present frequency and bandwidth combination is a part of the BC;and, wherein the at least one network interface is configured to send anindication to the network side.
 7. The UE of claim 6, wherein the atleast one network interface is further configured to send a wirelesscapability to the network side after the UE enters a connected state. 8.The UE of claim 7, wherein the wireless capability comprises performancedegradation indication information of the UE for at least one BC, eachBC comprises at least two bands, and the performance degradationindication information indicates whether the performance degradationexists for the at least one BC.
 9. The UE of claim 7, wherein thewireless capability comprises a number of transmitting ports used by theUE for each of at least one BC, each BC comprises at least two bands.10. The UE of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured todetermine whether query information about at least one frequency andbandwidth combination is received from the network side after thewireless capability is sent to the network side and send, to the networkside, information that the first or second number of transmitting portsis supported for the at least one frequency and bandwidth combination ifthe query information about the at least one frequency and bandwidthcombination is received from the network side.
 11. A network device,comprising: a processor; a memory configured to store computer programscapable of running in the processor; and at least one network interface;wherein the processor is configured to run the computer programs toacquire an indication sent by a User Equipment (UE) when performancedegradation exists for a present Band Combination (BC) and determine,according to the indication, that the UE uses a first or second numberof transmitting ports, wherein the first number is smaller than thesecond number and the present frequency and bandwidth combination is apart of the BC; and wherein the at least one network interface isconfigured to receive the indication sent by the UE, wherein theprocessor is further configured to run the computer programs todetermine that no performance degradation exists for a present frequencyand bandwidth combination corresponding to the UE when the indicationreceived from the UE indicates that the UE uses the second number oftransmitting ports.
 12. The network device of claim 11, wherein theprocessor is further configured to determine whether a wirelesscapability corresponding to the UE is stored on a Core Network (CN) sideafter the UE enters a connected state, and send request information foracquiring the wireless capability to the UE if no wireless capabilitycorresponding to the UE is stored on the CN side.
 13. The network deviceof claim 12, wherein the wireless capability comprises performancedegradation indication information of the UE for at least one BC, eachBC comprises at least two bands, and the performance degradationindication information indicates whether the performance degradationexists for the at least one BC.
 14. The network device of claim 12,wherein the wireless capability comprises a number of transmitting portsused by the UE for each of at least one BC, and each BC comprises atleast two bands.
 15. The network device of claim 11, wherein the atleast one network interface is further configured to acquire theindication sent by a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) via Xn when the UE sendsthe indication to a network side through the SCG.
 16. The network deviceof claim 11, wherein the at least one network interface is furtherconfigured to receive hardware capability information sent by the UE,the hardware capability information indicates whether the UE supportsthe second number of transmitting ports.
 17. The network device of claim16, wherein the processor is further configured to perform resourceconfiguration based on the first number of transmitting ports when anindication indicating that the first number of transmitting ports isused is received from the UE, and perform resource configuration basedon the second number of transmitting ports when no indication indicatingthat the first number of transmitting ports is used is received from theUE.
 18. The network device of claim 12, wherein the processor isconfigured to: send query information about at least one frequency andbandwidth combination to the UE after the wireless capability isreceived from the UE; and receive from the UE information that the firstor second number of transmitting ports is supported for the at least onefrequency and bandwidth combination.